Mark Galli's skill kept Christianity Today magazine balanced, truthful, and challenging while he served as the managing editor, and will continue to impact it as he and Andy Crouch oversee the magazine together as dyad editors. In the following interview, Mark talks about how he landed at Christianity Today, working with prickly editors and his near-miss as a jail bird, among other things.

What first brought you to Christianity Today magazine?

David Neff, who was the editor of Christianity Today at the time, drafted me. I was editor of Christian History magazine when he asked me to apply for the position of managing editor of CT. I had not taken the initiative to do so because I was pretty happy at Christian History. But I applied and got it. Some days I'm not sure whether I'm as happy, but I am challenged! More importantly, I feel it's the magazine God has called me to serve.

What was your favorite thing about being CT's managing editor?

Telling people what to do. That's a joke, by the way, because you just don't tell a CT editor what to do. We're a prickly bunch, and I'm often the leader of the pack.

Seriously, I've enjoyed helping shape cover stories and articles that have started important conversations. One of my last examples was "The Juvenilization of the American Church," which took off once it was posted online.

What big changes did you implement when you first stepped into that role?

No big changes when I became managing editor. I felt I needed to learn how things were done, and get a good sense of the history and ethos of the magazine. Besides, there were those prickly editors …

Do you and Andy Crouch have big plans as you begin overseeing the magazine?

As canned as it sounds, our goal is to make both the print and the digital magazine better—and to do so quickly. Journalism is evolving rapidly, and what was excellent last year is now merely good. What an editor did three years ago is not enough now. How we relate to marketing is shifting. What effective design looks like is constantly churning. The technology to deliver the goods is revolutionized every year. What's needed is blitzkrieg publishing.

In the movie Patton, the famously aggressive general tells his troops, "I don't want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We're not holding anything … We are advancing constantly." We're in an environment that is not unlike a war whose front line is constantly shifting. We have to move with it, even get ahead of it and shift it ourselves, or we become irrelevant, sipping tea and playing bridge while the rest of the journalistic world is engaged in the most exciting action imaginable.

Well said! On a lighter note, there's a rumor that you once narrowly missed going to jail.

For three days I worked in a "prison gang" for Santa Cruz County. I was working off some traffic ticket I had forgotten to pay in a timely way. It was either that or three days in jail. At least I was outside on beautiful summer days!

It's nice to know that you can relate to all strata of society.

Yes!

Besides your work at CT, you have written numerous books. Which is your favorite and why?

To pick a favorite book is something akin to picking a favorite child. Sometimes that depends on the day. Often my favorite is my latest. In this case, it would be Karl Barth: An introductory biography for evangelicals. It is what it says it is, and my hope is that it's a much easier intro to Barth than most have read. It's coming out next year.

What is your favorite activity outside of work?

When the weather permits, golf is high on the list. I also brew craft beer as a hobby—in moderation!

You're a family man. How would your grown children describe you?

As the greatest dad in the world. At least that's a T-shirt they gave me some years ago when they were young. I assume they still believe it. I understand others have won the award since, but it was nice to be the greatest one year. There's some pretty tough competition out there now. I doubt I'll ever repeat.

What is one thing you would love to tell CT's readers?

To buy subscriptions for their friends, children, parents, and, well, even those who have gone to a better life. If dead Chicagoans can vote, why can't dead Christians have a subscription to CT?

Seriously, CT is one of the most misunderstood magazines in the Christian world. When I ask a 30-something if they've read CT, I usually hear, "No, that was my dad's magazine." But when I ask them to take a look at an issue and give me feedback, they exclaim how great it is. So, if we can get this in the hands of more people, I think they're going to love it.